Book review: Yabu Pushelberg

September 7, 2015

Book review: Yabu Pushelberg – Yabu Pushelberg, an interiors firm with offices in New York and Toronto, has been named to Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame for its luxurious retail, hospitality and residential projects. The volume Yabu Pushelberg features lavish photography of projects that include the Four Seasons Tokyo, Bergdorf Goodman, The Hazelton Hotel, Tiffany & Co., Lane Crawford and Louis Vuitton.

Yabu Pushelberg features six essays by William Norwich, columnist and contributing editor to Vogue.

In 1972, two Ontario natives were brought to Ryerson University in Toronto for reasons that can be loosely linked to kismet. The same stroke of fate brought them together a few years later, and would mark the start of an abiding partnership in business and in life.

More than three decades later, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg oversee one of the most recognized design firms in the world. The Yabu Pushelberg studios redefine how the world sees and experiences the built environment. The work is designed collectively; it is imaginative, thoughtful, and honest, while continuously moving between the rational and the intuitive. It is this interchangeability of their individual roles, that in unison, is distinctive.

George and Glenn’s partnership is peerless, and their innate creative abilities have made them thought leaders in the design world. Dedicated to delivering the unexpected, they constantly shift visual paradigms with each completed project, the end result eliciting an emotional resonance in the user.

Brought together serendipitously on the hunt for studio space over 30 years ago, founders George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg found in each other an affinity for taking risks and presenting a strong point of view. The pair’s multidisciplinary approach was and is informed by an endless curiosity and driven by partnerships with thoughtful, creative like-minded people. Often taking them to faraway places before the concept of a global design firm really existed.

Evolving to encompass all aspects of design, each project reflects an edited approach that transcends trends. With studios in Toronto and New York, and current projects in over 16 countries, the same attention to detail and spirit of exploration remains a hallmark of the firm. Experimentation with materials, independent artists and artisans continues in a diversely talented collective under the guidance of founders George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg and partners Tara Browne, Johnathan Garrison, and Shirlane Teh.

Over the years, Yabu Pushelberg has worked with some of the world’s leading innovators in the retail, hotel and hospitality industries. Increasingly, as Producers of visionary projects, George and Glenn continue to lead and inspire those around them, harnessing the creative potential of each new venture. The best projects, after all, are those that are ‘invented’.